New Statesman panel event marks important milestone in tripling surplus food redistribution

For the last ten months, many of us in the surplus food redistribution sector have been working on a groundbreaking collaboration. Just before Christmas last year, we met in the basement of Number 10 to discuss what redistributing more surplus food in the UK would look like, and how (theoretically) we would go about it. Prior to this, I had only ever handed petitions through the front door – so being invited inside was a welcome and surreal first. On leaving Downing Street, my colleague Dan Byam Shaw called it the most interesting meeting of his life. I agreed.

A Number 10 roundtable followed in quick succession – this time not in the basement. Sector leadership agreed to the target of tripling surplus food redistribution. It was clear to everyone that this wasn’t something we could achieve alone. So, we teamed up with partners across the redistribution sector, and put our heads down to figure out how we would go about it. This collaboration led to the announcement by the previous Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, in May of a National Programme to Redistribute Surplus Food, in his response to the King’s Speech.

However, a lot has happened since May, and I think the panel event we just hosted at Labour Conference was perhaps the most significant moment since the PM’s announcement in the story of this work. For the first time, many of those who have been collaborating on this project shared a stage to speak about our collective work.

The tirelessly supportive and ever erudite Josh Newbury MP opened with a summary of how we got to this moment. Government loves committing to big, ambitious targets, he said, but given the people sat on the panel, this one may well happen.

Felix’s CEO Charlotte Hill spoke about the billion great quality meals that we throw away each year. 

The Bread and Butter Thing’s Vic Harper took us through the covenant that we’ve all signed, committing us to working together to rescue them. 

Matthew van Duyvenbode outlined Trussell’s role as a critical friend to ensure we are clear that redistributing these meals isn’t a replacement for the structural responses needed to tackle poverty. 

Andrew Forsey of Feeding Britain reminded the Labour faithful of the words on their membership cards: ​“through the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone.” 

Community Shop’s Executive Chairman Gary Stott told a story about a woman he met who ate toilet roll to prevent the hunger pangs. The CEO of Neighbourly Steve Butterworth called on business, philanthropy and supporters to join our efforts to support people like her.

Steve Rigby from the Sir Peter Rigby Charitable Trust who kindly supported the event closed, by making a compelling case for further long term government support. Defra Minister Stephen Morgan MP sat at the back and listened intently.

The conference concluded with Defra Secretary of State Angela Eagle amongst the last to speak. She announced the Good Food Neighbourhoods Programme: £10 million for 45 local authorities, to help them support charities and community groups in their patches, so that people have access to more healthy and affordable food. Felix is a network of 16 independent partners that work across every region of the UK to deliver food to these charity and community groups in those local authorities (and every single other), so, unsurprisingly, we welcome this announcement!

Of course, our goal to triple surplus food redistribution is only achievable if local charities and community groups have the right resources to deliver food and services to the communities they are part of and the communities they support. It’s also only achievable if we can unlock the surplus food from all parts of the food industry. That’s why we welcomed positive conversations with the FDF, BRC and NFU about our proposed tax changes to encourage the redistribution of surplus food.

Both this Labour administration and the last one have spoken about putting civil society at the heart of government. With this announcement, and indeed others, we think they are doing it. For example, our CEO Charlotte Hill sits on the Civil Society Council, a mechanism which brings charity sector voices to the top table.

With this announcement, and the wider context of the National Programme to Redistribute Surplus Food, it’s important to talk about the value of what we and our sector partners do when redistributing surplus food. We are not going to fix the structural drivers of poverty through the charitable and community sector, and we are not going to pretend we will. Similarly, we are not going to solve food waste just by redistributing surplus food.

However, what we do enables a great deal. We work with supermarkets, restaurants, wholesalers, manufacturers, farmers and charities to get surplus food where it’s needed most. The 8,000 charities and community organisations we support provide more than just a meal. They provide connection, dignity and hope. From breakfast clubs and community kitchens to neighbourhood centres and homeless shelters, we enable places where 1.5 million people a year can eat healthy food, connect and access vital support. In doing this, we save local charities and community groups hundreds of millions on their food bills.

We have one model, our sector partners have a variety, but ultimately, by redistributing surplus food we support people every day with problems they face in their lives – and that’s an unambiguously positive thing.

The government came into this conference with the intention of talking about supporting local communities, providing breathing space to people given the context of the cost of living, and reaching people in every postcode.

This is what our sector does day in, day out, and I’ve come away from this year’s Labour conference with an appreciation of just how aligned we are with this government’s agenda.